


Virtue of the brave

by MissLeading



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jealous Roronoa Zoro, M/M, Sanji is seperated from crew, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-05 06:04:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10299257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLeading/pseuds/MissLeading
Summary: Sanji gets separated from his crew after Zoro breaks his heart. Will life be the same again?





	1. Chapter One

‘So than, you just add a pinch of salt, to make sure its properly seasoned.’

Sanji stirred the thick vegetable soup that was cooking in the large pan, making sure to taste it. His face lit up, it was perfect.

He turned round to grin at his young audience, who were all listening with awe on their faces. They couldn’t believe they had gotten the opportunity to learn how to prepare food from the best cook in the grand line himself. 

Their captain was also smiling, watching the scene in front of him. They definitely had been lucky to run into a pirate with a high bounty who was not only decent, but also willing to help them. 

Sanji closed the lid and lit his cigarette.

‘So, any questions?’

A bombardment of voices echoed around the kitchen, everyone eager to learn.

Sanji blew smoke in the air, unable to hide the faint happiness in his eyes. It had been so long since he had actually been with people who wanted to cook, who shared his passion.

 

 

Sanji made his way to the deck. The sun was setting and there was a slight breeze that ruffled his blonde hair. He lit a cigarette, sinking down against the metal railing, a sad smile on his face. 

 

He couldn’t help it. He missed the ladies. And the others. Especially the damn swordsman.

Even though the marimo had practically ripped his heart out. He was still hurt after all these months. 

The shitty marimo had forgotten their two year anniversary and stayed drinking all day. When Sanji had finally confronted him about it, he had told him that their relationship wasn’t a good idea anymore and then jumped off the ship.

After two years. Two years of putting up with the bastard and loving him.

 

He took a puff of his cigarette, letting the nicotine flood his system, his body relaxing automatically.

 

He had been equally angry and hurt. He couldn't understand what had went wrong, why the marimo was acting the way he was. He had stayed up all night in the kitchen, waiting for the marimo to return so he could confront him, demand an explanation and maybe knock some sense into him. When he still hadn’t returned until the following morning Sanji decided to go look for him. 

He had arrived in town and ran into a local who had told him that he had seen someone green haired entering the local brothel. 

Which is where he went.

His hand was shaking when he opened the door to the room where one of the women had said the marimo was, only to have his worst fears confirmed.

Zoro was sleeping, without any clothes on, next to some asshole covered with tattoos. He was even snoring, not a care in the world. Sanji couldn't breathe, and he had ran out of the brothel, tears streaming down his face. 

It was the damn marimo’s fault that he was so hurt and confused that when he was stumbling back to the Sunny he hadn’t noticed the marines, who had some kind of strong tranquilizer darts and had knocked him out and taken him to their ship.

 

He smirked, blowing the smoke of his cigarette in the air.

 

They had underestimated him and just locked him in a wooden brig and when he had woken up a few days later he had broken out easily. He had taken out all his pent up emotions, all his hurt and anger onto them, and somehow had ended up sinking the ship. 

He than realized that he was in the middle of the ocean without a log pose, and had no idea how to return to the island. Luckily a ship was passing by so he had sky walked to it to demand passage back to shore.

He remembered how surprised he was to find a group of kids, barely older that fifteen manning the ship. They were brave, willing to defend it with their life.

So Sanji had made peace with them, promised not to hurt them and had broken the ice the best way he could, by cooking them a meal. Which is when he discovered that the crew of misfits not only weren’t eating well, but were some of the worst cooks he had ever seen in his life. They were almost at Luffy’s level.

 

Luffy.

His face fell as he thought of Luffy. He missed his captain. 

 

After a few days they had arrived back on the island, only for him to find the Sunny had sailed off days before and had not returned. He hadn’t actually thought about them leaving without him.

Sanji had felt lost and alone. The grand line was too big and he would never catch up to them. He had sunk to his knees, and in a rare moment of weakness felt completely defeated.

 

The young crew’s captain however had at once offered to give him passage, in return for being his ship’s cook and helping his crew. They would find the Sunny.

So Sanji had taken the crew under his wing , not only teaching them how to cook but also how to fight, how to defend themselves. Truthfully, he had gotten a bit attached. He was proud of how far they had gotten in such a short amount of time. They looked up to him too, seeing him as their adopted big brother.

The marines didn’t really bother them much, as they were a trading ship and not a pirate crew, and if pirates tried to attack he always got rid of them quickly.

Months had passed as they went from island to island. He heard news of his crew once in a while, that they were stopping a revolution in one place, attacking a pirate base in another. They always went where they heard the rumors were originating from, but the Straw Hats didn’t stop moving.

He held the cigarette in his hand, watching as it slowly burnt out. He would find them again. 

 

..........

 

‘Island!’ The loud screech surprised Sanji, almost causing him to cut his finger. He felt his eyebrow twitch. How many times had he told the damn pint not to sound like someone was killing him when he got excited.

‘Sanji, Sanji’, The youngest crew member burst in, his eyes filled with excitement. ‘It’s a summer island!’ he yelled, reaching out for a pie that was slowly cooling in the little kitchen window.

‘ Don’t even think about it.’ Sanji growled, causing the poor kid to gulp and slowly back away.

‘Sanji we’re hungry ’ A loud voice rumbled around the kitchen, and a giant teenager squeezed himself into the door.

Sanji sighed, knowing his pies were doomed. His adopted crew not only consisted of teenagers who ate like pigs, but an actual giant who ate more than everyone combined. It still wasn’t as much as Luffy though. No one could beat Luffy.

‘Call the others.’ He said grumpily. Loud cheers echoed around the kitchen and it filled up quickly with kids stuffing their faces.

Sanji looked out of the window at the island they were approaching. He understood the crews excitement. They didn’t have the best navigator, no one was as great as the beautiful Nami- San and the last islands they had come across were well, less than enjoyable, being extremely barren and dangerous. This island looked promising. Maybe he could stock up on supplies, as they were running a bit low.

 

 

The summer island was great. There were plenty of food stores, beaches and the people were extremely friendly. Also there were festivals in the street, people dancing and celebrating. Sanji bought all types of food, and then found himself relaxing, exploring the area, tasting the local delicacies. He especially liked a local alcoholic drink that tasted really sweet, almost like honey. The marimo would hate it. No. He wouldn't think about the marimo. Not today

It was so good he ended up taking another. And another.

 

‘Please Sanji please!’

Sanji had maybe drank too much. He could barely walk straight. And now the damn kids were pestering him to cook in a contest, something about the prize money being extremely high.

The pint was looking at him with those large eyes. Shit. The damn pint was a crook and really good at manipulating people to get his own way.

‘Fine.’ He slurred, slowly stumbling onto the stage. ‘Don’t blame me if I mess up.’

He stood on stage, slowly pulling up his blonde hair which was growing a bit too long. His face was flushed, but he suddenly felt strangely happy and at peace. It must be the alcohol. He grinned at the kids, who were all by the stage, flashing him thumbs up. He would win it for them.

He gave a huge flamboyant display, his confidence at his highest due to the alcohol. He blew fire in the air, seared his steak perfectly, filleted the fish in record time. The crowd was going wild. He lapped it up, enjoying the attention.

 

He didn’t have any competition and won hands down.

  
The major went to give him his prize, praising his cooking skills. The kids crowded around him, full of excitement.

His eyes were crinkling, and he was chuckling happily, the pint on his shoulders.

He was happy.

 

.........

 

**On the other side of town**

_‘Another sake.’ He gulped it down at once, slamming it down on the counter._

_People were scurrying away, scared of his demonic aura. His scowl was terrifying and his eyes were empty, emotionless. His face and hands were filled with scars and he was built like a tree, stoic._

_‘Here, have the bottle on the house but please leave, you’re scaring away everyone.’ The bartender said, his voice trembling before dashing back into the bar not wanting to die._

_He walked outside, drinking from the bottle, barely paying attention to his surroundings. Which is when he got a whiff of a smell of food. A smell that almost made his mouth water, that reminded him of a time when food was something he enjoyed._

_A smell that was so familiar that .. It couldn’t be._

_He clutched the bottle in his hand and stumbled towards it._

_There. A crowd. The smell was coming from there. He walked towards it, almost in a daze. He could hear the major congratulating someone on the den den mushi speaker and then he heard a laugh. A laugh he had been dreaming about for the last few months. A laugh he never thought he would hear again. He dropped the bottle of sake, and it crashed onto the ground, smashing into loads of pieces._

_He was there. His cook. The sun was shining on him and his hair was like spun gold and he was laughing, the deep throaty laugh that sent shivers down his back. His cook’s face was flushed, and he was so damn good looking it hurt. He looked well too, and happy._

_He realized that tears were forming in his eyes, and his hand was shaking. He slowly started making his way forward, the crowd parting away from in front of him._

_‘Sanji.’ He said, his voice hoa_ rse, barely distinguishable.


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji had to remove the pint of his shoulders, after he almost stumbled. The damn alcohol was really getting to him and he was feeling slightly dizzy. The sound from the crowd also seemed to be increasing, and it wasn’t good for his head, which was pounding.

He rummaged in his pockets, trying to find his lighter which seemed to have gone missing. He really needed a cigarette.

Wait. What the hell was that?

Everything was blurring slightly, but he could swear there was something bright green moving through the crowd. He blinked, trying to focus on it. It was strangely spiky and looked like a patch of moss.

His breath caught in his throat as he realized the moss was attached to a person.

It couldn’t be. He was so drunk, he was hallucinating. That was the only explanation. The honey drink must have had something in it.

But maybe..

He took a step forward, which turned out to be a bad idea. Seconds later he found himself lying on stage, surrounded by the kids.  

He was also feeling really tired. Shit. He had definitely drank too much.

 

 

His adopted crew were very amused. 

‘He’s really out of it.’ The pint said, sniggering.

The captain grinned, shaking his head. The last time Sanji had gotten drunk he had picked a fight with a building. The building had lost, and it ended up costing them a lot of money. Their cook really couldn’t take his alcohol. 

‘Tiny, let’s get him back to the ship,’ he decided, turning towards their large crew member.

The giant teenager smiled, easily hosting Sanji over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sanji yawned, closing his eyes. He was sound asleep in a second.

‘Sorry, we’ll be leaving now.’ The captain said, shaking the mayor’s hand enthusiastically, the prize money nestled safety in his trouser pockets.

Plus the mayor’s money pouch.

And quite a lot of other pouches he had collected from the crowd when everyone had been distracted by Sanji. He had always found it hard to resist easy money.

They were half way down the stairs, when a loud angry ‘ Thieves!’ resonated round the square. The angry voices grew, as more people started realizing they were missing their money.

‘Captain…’ one of the boys said.  Their captain was looking rather sheepish.

‘Run!’

It quickly turned into complete chaos. Guards and marines came rushing into the square causing a stampede, and people were panicking. Someone fired a shot, and people started drawing out weapons, fighting with each other. Stands were overturned and burnt and the festival forgotten. The locals retreated back home and locked their doors, not really surprised. Something always happened when they held a festival.

Tiny crashed through the crowd in the village, making a path for his crew, who were running as fast as they could. The pint was on top of the captains shoulders, scolding him angrily. 

Even though he was only eight years old, he sometimes felt he was a thousand times more responsible than his stupid captain. If they got caught stealing, they would have their trading licence revoked by the marines which would not be good. At all.

They didn’t notice that they were being followed by someone who was cutting down people desperately, not wanting to lose them.

 

 

Sanji was dreaming about his last birthday on the Sunny. He had just returned from buying fruit from town as Nami-san had mentioned she was really craving a strawberry pie, and strangely enough all his strawberries had somehow gone missing. Even though he was sure he had bought some the day before.

He was left speechless when he saw all his crew on deck, all grinning toothily with balloons. Brook was playing happy birthday with his violin and Luffy was bouncing around the deck, proud he had managed to keep everything secret but no longer able to contain his excitement.  

During his previous birthdays, they had either been in danger, separated or battling marines so he was just happy to be able to spend some time with his crew without someone or something trying to kill them.

He never really liked his birthday anyway. Zeff wasn’t one for celebrating, and before that… well. He wasn't expecting anything.

His nakama though had once again exceeded his expectations. They had purchased a cake for him from the town they were docked in and given him gifts;  new knives, rare herbs, a new suit and books about the All Blue. 

He couldn’t help crying at that moment, even though he tried his best to hide it. He couldn’t understand how he had gotten so lucky.  

And Zoro had come to his side and placed his hand on Sanji’s shoulder, his eyes strangely gentle as he smiled at him. The marimo smelt of metal and sweat and home and he had kissed Sanji, softly, brushing away his tears.

‘Ero- cook, you’re supposed to be happy.’

‘I am shitty moss head,’ he had said, looking at Zoro, his eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m really happy.’

Zoro had grinned, pulling him close and they had just stood on deck watching the sunset together.

He was so lucky. To be with all these people, who loved him.

His crew, his nakama who would never cast him aside like his family had done. Never cast him aside… Never leave him behind….

Although he was still asleep, a single tear slid down his face.

 

 

They had almost reached the ship, which was docked in the middle of the port. The captain dashed past Tiny, and jumped into the ship, untying the ropes so they could quickly leave.

‘Help me pull up the anchor!’ he yelled triumphantly as he un-knotted the last rope. Tiny placed Sanji against the wall on deck and pushed his captain gently out of the way, drawing the anchor up in one pull without even breaking a sweat.

Their other crew mates joined them, quickly taking their positions around the ship. The captain made his way to steer the ship out of the port. He was out of breath, but this had been a fun stop, and they had made quite a lot of money. They would be able to take it easy for the next few weeks.

He guided the ship towards the small port entrance.

It was than the pint caught sight of someone running down the dock, seemingly faster than humanly possible. His mouth fell open as the man just leapt, flying through the air and onto the deck and landing right in the middle of the ship, two large katanas in his hands, and one in his mouth. He was panting, his eyes almost wild.

The pint stumbled backwards, in fear. This man was dangerous. He could sense it with every fiber of his body.

‘Give me my cook back ’ the swordsman growled, spitting blood from his mouth. His eyes were burning black, and his katanas were dripping with blood.  

The pint decided he was probably a demon and yelped, running to hide behind the captain, who had come on deck to face the man.

The captain was looking at the man with a strange expression. He wasn’t pleased with this unexpected and very unwelcome development.  

‘Roronoa Zoro I presume?, ‘ he said, a large scowl on his face.  

Zoro stopped, noticing for the first time that the crew who had abducted Sanji were very young and didn’t really look like a threat. He didn’t put down his katanas though. He didn’t trust anyone, and they had his cook. 

The pint decided to be brave. He really loved Sanji, he made good food and made him laugh when he was sad. The demon would not take him. He stepped out from behind the captain .

‘Sanji’s our nakama, you can’t have him’ he said, his voice slightly shaking, drawing out a dagger from his boot.

The captain put his hand on the pints shoulder, stopping him from taking another step. ‘ Pint, he was Sanji’s nakama before Sanji became ours. He’s the damn marimo’

Recognition shone in the pint’s eyes and his expression changed. He also didn’t like this new development.

‘Dudes.’ Tiny said, noticing all of a sudden the cook was no longer where he left him.

A strange sound was heard round the ship, followed by a stream of curses.

Zoro stopped and turned, his face suddenly softening to the surprise of the crew. He didn't even spare them a look as he sheathed his katanas and rushed to the other side of the ship.

 

 

Sanji was throwing up, leaning against the deck edge, barely able to stand. Shitty damn honey thing. He was feeling rather nauseated and his headache was a million times worse. He just wanted to die.

It was than he felt someone holding him up, slowly rubbing his back. He appreciated it, at least he wouldn’t throw up on his shoes. They were his favorites.

Damn it to hell and back. He swore this would be the last time he would drink. Ever. 

He felt slightly better once he had gotten most of it out of his system, but he was still really dizzy. He also couldn’t stand the damn light, so he kept his head down and his eyes closed. He just wanted to sleep it off.

He slowly felt his way to his room, glad that it was on the same level as the deck. He didn’t really think he could do stairs. He pushed the door open to his room which is when he brushed against something really warm and solid. His hand lingered, surprised at the strange pounding he could feel. Strange, he could swear it was speeding up. It was a mysterious thing, as Luffy would say. He opened his eye, squinting, trying to focus.

It was a man.

Oh.

That was a surprise. He only liked one man though.

But this man was warm. And he was feeling cold. So he pulled the man down next to him, in his bed. The man didn’t really complain, except he seemed to shaking like he was feeling cold, which was strange considering how warm he was.

Maybe he wanted to be warmer too. So Sanji curled himself around the man, his eyes closed again, smiling happily. The man was holding him tightly too, just how he liked it.

Sanji already felt a bit better. He was sleeping in seconds.

Zoro’s eyes were red, and he was taking in everything. The warmth of Sanji’s body, the way his hair was falling over his eyes, how soft it was, the way he was breathing. Part of him had died when they lost Sanji. He found himself tightening his hold. He would never lose the cook again.  

 

 

_‘So captain, what do we do now? All these months and plans and now we’re going to lose him.’ One of the crew members said, scowling, having just gone down to check on Sanji and found him curled up against the green haired swordsman._

_Pint sniffled. ‘I don’t want too. I love him, he’s our nakama,’_

_‘I know Pint,’ the captain said, suddenly grinning . ‘Don’t worry, I have another plan. He’ll definitely stay with us’_


	3. Chapter 3

Sanji tried to turn to his side, but it was practically impossible. He couldn’t even move his arms. He groaned, his head pounding. What the hell had happened to him? Had he been captured again? 

He was somewhere soft and warm at least, and he didn’t think he was seriously injured. He slowly opened one eye, grimacing at the faint light.

He promptly shut it again, and then opened them both at once, staring in shock at the face of the person who was fast asleep next to him, holding him a bit too tightly.  It couldn’t be. Was he dreaming? No, everything felt too real…

He gave a strangled yelp and tried to pull away, using all his strength.

It was at that moment Zoro opened his eyes, blinking, and looked straight at Sanji, his dark eyes widening.

His dark eyes that had so much depth and were so intense it sent shivers up Sanji’s spine. Shit.

 

Sanji suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. ‘Let go of me.’ he said, softly, the quiver in his voice evident.

Zoro at once pulled away, anxiety suddenly evident in his eyes. ‘Sanji.. I…’

Sanji almost fell off the bed in a haste to get away from Zoro. All the emotions he had kept pent up, all the sadness and loneliness, all those months wishing everything had turned out differently and now the marimo was in his bed, like nothing had ever happened and he didn’t know why or how and - he was having a panic attack.

Zoro was by his side at once, kneeling down close to him. ‘ Just breathe.’ He said quietly, trying his best to get the cook to calm down, slowly rubbing his shoulders. His face was close to Sanji’s, his dark eyes filled with emotion.

Sanji felt his body respond to the touch instinctively and he found himself relaxing. He wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms, to be with the marimo. It hurt how much he had missed him.

No. The damn marimo had abandoned him, left him on their anniversary. If it wasn’t for him, he wouldn’t have had to go through those months of not knowing where his nakama were, if he would ever see them again. He didn’t only lose Zoro on that day, he lost everyone.

He needed to get away, to clear his head. He pulled away from Zoro, not looking him into the eye.

‘I have to go make breakfast, for the crew.’

Zoro pulled back, ‘ Your crew?’ he said in a strange voice.

‘Maybe I moved on, like you did.’ He said bitterly, regretting it as soon as he saw Zoro’s face.

‘Wait, we didn’t.. I didn’t..’ Zoro uttered. He sounded really anxious and worried, but he looked broken, almost like he was in a lot of pain.

Sanji couldn’t help it. He still loved him. Even though the marimo had ripped his heart out, he still was his nakama. Even though they weren't together anymore.

‘It’s ok. I understand.’ He said smiling, even though his smile never reached his eyes. ‘I’m never good enough, so I’m used to it by now.’

He dashed out of the room, not wanting Zoro to see him break down.

 

 

 

 

Sanji felt a bit better once he was in the kitchen. It was his zen place, where he strategized and let his thoughts flow. It was the place he belonged in the most. 

He brewed a green tea to help him with his headache and watched the steam rise from the kettle.

So, the marimo was here. After all these months, the marimo was here and he had probably messed it up. Sanji knew there was probably nothing between them anymore, the marimo had practically told him he didn’t love him. He had slept with someone else, on their anniversary. He hadn’t waited for him to return back to the island. He thought he had accepted it after all these months. 

He accidentally cracked an egg in his hand, and watched the yolk drip down.

Damn it.

He was mad. He was mad they didn’t wait for him. He was strong. They knew it. Even if he had been captured, he would have escaped. They had left him no leads, no clue to where they were going and they had kept moving constantly, making it practically impossible to catch up. It’s like they didn’t want him too..

No. They were his nakama. He would not let his old insecurities catch up with him again. He knew they cared about him, they had been through so much together. They must have had their reasons, maybe they trusted him to find them eventually.

He sighed, watching the eggs fry. Seeing Zoro had caused him to lose control of his emotions. He would calm down, and talk to the marimo properly. Show him that he had forgiven him, and he was ready to move on, even if it would be hard. He would get to be with everyone again. His Nami- San and Robin- Cwan will be as perfect as ever,  and Usopp will steal his spices and Chopper will scold him for not staying still when he’s injured and Frankie will try and force him to put cola into everything and Brook will tell him his stupid jokes and Luffy. Luffy will eat all his food and be his captain and convince him everything will be ok.

He felt a small grin slowly make its way to his face. He couldn’t wait to see everyone again.

 

The smell of the bacon frying drew in the hungry kids, all of them practically drooling like they did every morning. Everyone's eyes lit up as they saw the giant feast Sanji had prepared for them for breakfast. There were eggs and meats and all types of fruit and pancakes.  Tiny started stuffing himself quickly with food, grunting with happiness. 

The captain however was watching Sanji smoke a cigarette at the back of the kitchen, noticing a plate had been set aside for their unwelcome visitor. However, the Roronoa Zoro wasn’t in the kitchen, which was a good sign. He had heard raised voices, which was excellent. He hoped Sanji would just kick him of the ship and save him heaps of trouble.

‘Hey, Pint.’ Sanji said suddenly, his voice cutting through the noise in the kitchen. Everyone fell silent.

‘Yeah?’ The pint mumbled , a whole pancake practically stuffed in his mouth.

‘First of all, what did I tell you about eating fast and not chewing .’ Sanji growled, tapping his leg against the floor . The pint turned pale, and accidentally swallowed the pancake which made him start coughing hard. The captain hit him on the back, hard, barely able to contain his laughter. It was funny how the pint feared and loved Sanji at the same time.

‘Sorry, sorry I’m sorry.’ The pint said, once he caught his breath.

‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ Sanji said, his eyebrow twitching. He sighed, blowing the smoke up in the air. The marimo looked like he had lost some weight.

‘Can you take down this plate to the marimo in my room?.’

The pint started protesting, mumbling something about demons and getting eaten.  Sanji approached him and bent down, looking him straight in his eyes. ‘ His bark is worse that his bite. You know the rule, no one goes hungry. Ever.’ He then grinned. ‘ Plus you keep telling me you’re brave. Prove it.’

 

 

_The pint walked out of the kitchen, his head held high. The second he was out he felt his legs trembling.  He didn’t want to be in a room with  a demon._

_He almost jumped out of his skin when his captain all of a sudden appeared in front of him. He was going to yell, but the captain’s hand was on his mouth, silencing him._

_‘We’re going to add something special to the damn marimo’s meal.’ He said, with a toothy smile that did not quite reach his eyes._

_He pulled out a flask of transparent liquid and poured a little on the breakfast._

_‘Take it too him and convince him to eat.’ He said softly._

_The pint nodded, not looking at his captain. He would do anything to make sure Sanji remained in their crew._


	4. Chapter 4

**Nine months ago**

 

Zoro was sprawled on deck under the mikan trees, drowsing off under the warm afternoon sun. He was well hidden so he was unlikely to be disturbed. There was no one on the Sunny anyway, his cook had went off with Nami, and the rest were off somewhere on the island exploring. 

He yawned, enjoying the rare peace and quiet. The only sounds were of the sea softly hitting the ship and the seagulls cawing in the sky. All he needed now was the cook to return by his side, and he would be happy. The witch had insisted she needed Sanji for something important, and dragged him away but Sanji had promised him with his lazy smile they would spend some time alone later in the evening, so he was looking forward to it. He grinned. He couldn’t wait.

He had fallen asleep for a short period of time when he sensed someone approaching the ship. His hand flew to his katanas, but he quickly relaxed. It was just the long-nose and Chopper. A brief second later, their voices echoed round the ship.

‘No, it can’t be true.. Can it?’ he heard Chopper say, shock evident in his voice.

‘Yes it is. I, the mighty Usopp, with my amazing hearing abilities heard everything!’

Zoro closed his eyes, and was going to drowse off again when he heard Sanji’s name. They were talking about his cook. He couldn’t help listening in.

‘But.. When will he do it?’ Chopper said, sounding really excited.

‘I heard him tell Nami it’s their anniversary tomorrow, probably then .’ Usopp said. ‘He came up to me too, begging me for my assistance, and I told him with the affairs of the heart, you do not wait. As you must know, I am quite experienced with these matters, in fact once in a village I recieved over a thousand proposals.’

‘I still can’t believe they are getting married!’ Chopper said, his voice rising slightly.

‘Shhhhhh.’ Usopp whispered loudly. ‘Zoro’s guarding the ship, he can’t know Sanji’s going to propose to him or else the surprise will be ruined.’

It was at that moment Zoro’s face paled, and his eye shot open.

Sanji, propose to him? Tomorrow? He loved the cook, but marry him? His goal was to be the best swordsman in the world, how was he going to do that if he was married to the cook? Would he have to put the cook's ambitions and dreams before his?

He really needed a drink. More than one drink.

He ended up drinking his entire supply, so he decided to get more alcohol, muttering to Usopp that he was leaving before going into town. It took him at least an hour to find it. 

He was passing in front of the town’s shopping district when he quickly went into an alley, hiding in the shadows. There was his cook and Nami, laughing together, and Nami sounded really excited. She was taking about an engagement.

He couldn’t do this.

He bought more alcohol.

That night, he kept away from the ship, going back in the early morning. He glanced into the kitchen, only to see Sanji passed out asleep on the kitchen table, a burnt out candle, a couple of empty bottles of wine and a plate of food laid out in front of him. His heart twisted, the cook had probably stayed up waiting for him.  

He slowly picked up the cook, who moaned and nuzzled close to him, still fast asleep and carried him to their cabin, putting him onto his hammock and covering him in blankets.

He drank more alcohol, not sleeping all night.

The next day, he avoided the cook completely. He knew it was their anniversary, but getting married terrified him. Not before he achieved his goal. It was too soon.

He drank some more, and started feeling the effects of his binge drinking. So when Sanji had finally managed to corner and confront him, looking both hurt and annoyed he had panicked, said he couldn’t do it anymore and jumped of the ship, stumbling back into town. 

It was than he ran into a woman, who offered him a bed for the night and he had followed her, exhausted and intoxicated. He was lucid enough to refuse when she came into his room, scantily dressed, telling her he only loved one man. Which is when he promptly passed out.

He had woken up the next morning, and found himself sleeping next to a stranger, a man.

He promptly drew out his katanas, snarling, wanting to know why the man was in bed with him. The prostitute had just paled, and said he had been paid to service the man in the room.  When he found him asleep, he had just decided to pretend that they had still slept together so he wouldn't lose his money. 

 Zoro had thought about cutting the man at that moment but the man had fainted in terror and it went against his morals to kill an unarmed man.

He had stumbled out of the room, only to have the woman he had refused approach, to tell him with a large smile that his gorgeous blonde lover had passed by, and he didn’t look too happy. In fact, she had said smirking, the blonde had looked completely devastated.

His heart just stopped, at that moment. He had told Sanji that he couldn’t do it anymore, and then Sanji had found him with another man.

He ran out of the brothel, tearing down the street. Where would Sanji go? Back to the Sunny? He had to talk to him, convince him it was all a misunderstanding.

He got lost, again and again, finding himself constantly in parts of the island he had never seen before and almost broke down. Not now. He had to find his cook. A world without Sanji was worse than a world where he was married to him and things wouldn’t change if they got married. He would still be Zoro, and Sanji would still be his cook.

After a few hours he found himself out of breath, and back to the Sunny. Where he discovered that Sanji hadn’t come back, and everyone had thought they were together. His world started falling apart at that moment. When they found out the marines had taken his cook, he had gripped Wado so tightly he cut his hand. 

Robin had been interrogating the marines when they had discovered the cook had been drugged, a new invention by a scientist who swore that it would keep prisoners under for 7 days, which was the amount of  time it took the marines to transport prisoners off the island and to the nearest marine base, and it would keep them calm and sedated for several weeks after.

They had all boarded the Sunny and Luffy was serious, promising Zoro and everyone they would get Sanji back. All Zoro could think about was that it was his fault, all his fault.

With Nami’s navigation skills and Frankie’s frequent coop de bursts they had arrived at the marine base in a few days, and had learnt the marine ship carrying an important prisoner had still not arrived and was on its way.

They had defeated all the marines, laying waste to the entire marine base. It was than they had received word from a terrified marine that the ship was sinking, that something had attacked it.

All Zoro could think about was Sanji, fast asleep, drowning as the ship went down, his pale hair floating in the water, his blue eyes never opening again.

Nami had at once navigated to the spot where they had heard the ship was attacked, but there was nothing. The nearby islands were quite far off, but Luffy insisted on checking them, firmly believing the cook was alive and had escaped.

They went from island to island, leaving word with people they trusted, telling them they were searching for the cook. However, it was like the cook had vanished without a trace.

The worst part was when he learnt from a tearful Nami that Sanji had helped her scam a diamond specialist, by pretending to be looking for an engagement ring before he was taken and now she could't even bear to look at the money they had made together. He had broken down completely at that moment, realizing that he had misunderstood the entire situation and he had hurt the cook, for nothing.  

They circled the area for a while, always searching. Then, a woman had her child kidnapped by traders and a man had kidnapped Usopp and Luffy got caught up in a war. The Grand Line was large, and the number of islands they stopped on had no cook. The messages and den den mushi’s they left behind for the cook to find remained quiet.

Zoro had gotten quieter and quieter, and spend a lot of time alone. He just felt guilt and loneliness, like part of himself was missing. He missed his cook. He missed his food, he missed fighting and arguing with him, he missed their moments of intimacy.

Part of him wanted to believe the cook was alive, that they were going to find him. But what if it took years, or Sanji was really gone? What if the last thing he ever told the cook was that he didn’t think it was working out?

He hated himself. It was his fault.

**Now**

_He hadn’t moved from the spot he was in after the cook left. He would prove to the cook that he loved him, he would win him back and get him back to the crew. He couldn’t go on without him. He knew it now. He would do anything._

_At that moment, the door opened and a small kid walked in, not looking at him in the face._

_‘Sanji cooked you food.’ He dropped the plate next to the door and dashed out, running as fast as he could._

_Zoro stared at it for a moment, and than walked towards it and picked it up, his hand shaking. Sanji's food. He had missed it so much. He took a bite_.


	5. Chapter 5

 

Sanji had been drying the same dish for the last few minutes. An unlit cigarette was hanging out of his mouth.

He needed to confront the marimo and have a civil discussion with him, without his feelings and insecurities getting in the way. Zoro was alone, and that probably meant the bastard had gotten lost again. Sanji wanted to know if the others were okay, and where they were. He knew Zoro was their strongest fighter after Luffy, and he always protected everyone and had Luffy’s back. He had to at least return the marimo back to the Sunny.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t thinking of going back as well, but so much time had passed. He had to consider the fact that they might have moved on, and found a new cook. He wouldn’t blame them if they had, they couldn’t really sail down the Grand Line without someone who could prepare food, mostly with Luffy’s appetite. Would they still accept him on board if they had, and would things still be the same? 

No. He couldn't stay overthinking things. He shook his head, annoyed at himself.

He had survived growing up with his family and almost starving to death, he had managed to face his fears and grow stronger and now he was doing an Usopp and being negative about everything. 

He would face the marimo. He would go back to the Sunny, and damn it,  he would be as useful as he could, and prove his worth. 

He finally put the dish back on its rack, unrolling his shirt sleeves before running his hand through his unruly hair, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He opened the kitchen door. It was at that moment the ship unexpectedly turned sharply, making him slide backwards and smash into the kitchen table.

A large number of plates and dishes fell onto the floor, breaking into loads of little pieces.

He swore loudly, quickly regaining his balance and getting back on his feet. His side was definitely going to bruise, and his kitchen was a mess. There had better be a good explanation for this

‘What the hell!’ he yelled, dashing outside.

All the crew members were gathering on deck, surrounding the captain who was crouching in front of the pint, who was shaking, his hands covering his face. He looked at Sanji, worry  evident in his eyes.

‘Sanji, we have company and I think the pint knows who they are, he's really scared.'

 Now he definitely needed a cigarette. He could see at least ten large ships approaching quickly in the horizon, their flags carrying the symbol of a beheaded serpent.  Their cannons were also aimed at their ship, and he could see their crew members gathering by the sides. 

They were definitely not friendly, and definitely looking for a fight. It was strange so many ships were randomly attacking a small merchant's ship, unless.. He glanced at the pint, who still wasn't speaking, shaking and completely terrified. 

'Do you know who they are?' He said gently, kneeling down next to the frightened kid. 

'They're here to take me home!' the pint wailed, covering his eyes again. 'Please. I don't want to go back, I can't go back.' 

'Don't worry' the captain said, looking at Sanji. 'We won't let them take you.' 

Sanji analysed their current situation. The ships were approaching too quickly, and this ship didn’t have a 'super' upgrade to help them fly right past them. Well, it looked like he was going to have to fight.

‘Need help?’

 Sanji spun round. He had't noticed the marimo was right behind him. Wait, since when did the bastard ask him if he could join a fight? And since when did he sound almost nervous doing it? Sanji also noticed that he was holding the plate he had given him and it was empty, not even a trace of food remained on it. So, the marimo still liked his cooking. He almost smiled.

‘Like I need your help shitty moss-head. This is nothing. ’ He found himself saying, looking straight at the swordsman, challenging him.

He noticed that Zoro was still looking at him with that stupid strange expression almost like he didn't know how to react so he gave a small smile, trying to convey the fact that he was no longer mad. 

Zoro's eyes lit up and he also smiled for the first time, looking like he had just received the best news in the world.

Sanji froze. The marimo's smile still made him weak in his knees and it brought back too many memories. 

‘Scared I’ll get more than you cook?’ Zoro said suddenly, still grinning at Sanji.

‘No chance in hell ’ Sanji retorted back, trying to pretend he hadn't been completely thrown off by the smile. He quickly leapt of the ship and sky walked into the sky. Zoro was right behind him.

He would show the marimo he could still fight. 

 

The pirates were so easy to defeat, it wasn’t even challenging. Sanji managed to take down an entire ship and its crew in just a few minutes, without even one scratch. It definitely wasn’t true about what they said about power in numbers, he thought smirking. Next to him, ships were sinking just as fast.

He had to hurry up or Zoro would get more than him, and he wanted to beat him. 

He sky walked towards the next ship, landing a diablo jumble right in the middle, smashing the hull and causing it to break into two pieces. Pirates launched themselves at him and he kicked them off casually, taking time to light a cigarette.

Someone tried to attack him from behind and he raised his foot, cracking the pirates head open.

Idiots. They were out of their league, and should have retreated. Only three ships remained from the massive fleet. He needed to be faster, to take down the last one himself.

Wait. He could hear something.. He stopped, trying to listen.

He was right.

Someone was calling his name.

Sanji turned towards the sound. Tiny was flying towards him, using his powerful legs to jump across the large distance between both ships. He landed nimbly on his feet and ran towards Sanji, worry evident in his eyes.

‘Is something wrong? Was someone hurt?’ Sanji said quickly. Tiny was one of the calmer and quieter members of the crew, and to see him upset could mean something had gone wrong.

‘I’m sorry Sanji, I just found out what our idiot captain did and I'll talk to him after all this and it goes against everything I stand for.’ The giant rambled

  
Sanji's eyes fell on a small bottle in the giants teenager’s hand. He recognized it. He had been with the captain when he had gotten from another trader. It was a poison that rendered a person immobile and in pain, and the only cure was the same poison itself, administered after a period of time.  Why the hell was Tiny giving it to him? 

Wait.. 

‘The captain’s not a bad person. He only did it because he thought your green haired nakama would take you away but I can’t let them go through with it. You’re risking your life for us and you’ve done so much and he’s your nakama and they can’t continue being selfish. Please give it to him. They put it in the food you made this morning’

Sanji stiffened, grabbing hold the bottle in his hand.

Shit. He quickly dashed off the ship, towards where Zoro was fighting.

The kids had poisoned Zoro.

Sanji used all his strength to propel himself faster in the air, towards the flash of green he could see in the middle of a crowd of pirates.

He saw Zoro raise his katanas, cutting down all the pirates in his path and for a second believed that the marimo was okay. However as Sanji got closer, he realized that the Zoro’s face was white, and he was trembling.

Barely a second later Zoro fell on his knees, wheezing heavily. Sanji leapt towards him, and managed to catch him right before he hit the ground.

Sanji knew Zoro could recognize poison. Why had he..?

‘Why the hell did you eat it you damn half brained marimo?’ Sanji yelled angrily, trying to hide the panic in his voice, quickly unscrewing the bottle lid he had in his hand.

‘You made it.’ Zoro said, his eyes closed, attempting to smile. ‘Like I would ever leave any of your food shitty cook’ 

‘It was poisoned.’ Sanji whispered, his voice suddenly faltering.

‘I don’t care. You still made it‘ Zoro chuckled, ‘It’s not like I’m going to die from it anyway.’

‘Idiot!’ Sanji said, staring at Zoro in shock. Was he being serious? He couldn't understand, why would the marimo risk his life just to eat his food? .

He grabbed Zoro’s hand, thrusting the open bottle in it  ‘I have the antidote, just take it.’ he said, trying to stop his hand from trembling

Zoro drank from the bottle, his entire body relaxing. He opened his eye, staring at the blonde cook in front of him, noticing how flushed he was, how wild his eyes were.

He pulled himself up, and pressed his lips against Sanji, whose eyes widened. He than promptly passed out.

He could faintly hear his cook swearing before the darkness swallowed him.

 

Sanji was half dragging half carrying Zoro through the air, back to the ship, still in complete shock. The marimo had had eaten his food, even though it was poisoned. The marimo had kissed him. What was he supposed to think? This wasn't how he expected things to go. His plan had been to become nakama with Zoro again, it had been too painful to even think about their relationship.

He was also tired as hell. Sky walking and dragging someone as heavy as Zoro wasn’t compatible with his current level of energy. By the time he arrived on the ship he was panting, out of breadth.

It was than he noticed that the ship was full of pirates, leering at him. And they were holding knives to the kids throats. The pint was slung over one of the pirates shoulders.

Shit. They must have gotten on his crews ship when he was distracted with Zoro. And now there was just him. There were too many pirates to save all the kids without risking some of their lives and Zoro was also completely out of it, probably for the next few hours so he had to protect them all. He needed a plan.

‘Surrender if you don’t want us to gut them, they are a bit young to lose their precious lives.’ A large bearded pirate spit. He was holding the captain, who was looking at Sanji with remorse in his eyes.

‘I’m sorry Sanji, they got some of our crew I couldn’t let them ..’ The pirate cuffed him in the face, silencing him.

Sanji bristled in anger, still trying to think of a way to take out all the pirates without getting any of the kids hurt.

‘I said surrender now!’ The pirate yelled angrily, getting agitated and pushing his knife closer to the boys throat. A line of blood appeared, and the captain clenched his fist, pain evident in his eyes.

Sanji had no choice.

He put his arms up, letting the pirates surround him. He didn’t put up a fight when they forced him to his knees, and kicked him in his stomach again and again, definitely cracking a few ribs, causing him to wince in pain.

Once the others were out of danger, he would teach them how dangerous he was when the people he cared about were threatened.

They handcuffed his legs and arms with sea stone, and then moved on to Zoro, who Sanji noted was snoring again,  and the damn bearded pirate approached him, full of confidence now he was restrained.

He grabbed Sanji’s hair, pulling him close to him. Sanji glared at him, angry as hell.

‘We only came for the boy, but you caused us a lot of trouble and my men want you to pay. Your companion also has quite a large bounty. The great Roronoa Zoro, and we managed to capture him.’ He gloated. ‘His bounty will be an extra reward for all this trouble.’

 

The damn pirate's fist flying towards his face was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

 

When he woke up, he was in the hold of their enemies ship. He quickly shot up, looking around frantically ignoring the sharp pain in his side, and then exhaled a sigh of relief.  Zoro was in the same cell, still snoring away. These pirates were definitely stupid, which was to their advantage. The marimo's bounty was dead or alive, and Zoro was rarely as incapacitated as he was in this moment. They didn't know what they were dealing with.

All he needed was Zoro to wake up, and then they would bust their way out, rescue the pint and make their way back to the ship.

No big deal.

 

_The captain sat in the kitchen, nursing his throat. The pirates had made off with Pint and Sanji and they had to get them back. Their ship was currently on the tail of the snake ship, but he knew where it was going. He had retrieved the pint from a place not far from where they currently were, and they had drawn a lot of attention in the town they had just been in. He should have known they would find the kid. He hadn't ever wanted to go back there again. At least Sanji was with him, hopefully he would be able to protect the pint until they arrived. Than he could make up for everything that he had done._

__‘Captain, another pirate ship is approaching.’ Tiny rushed in, panting._ _

 

_The captain dashed out onto deck, steeling himself. This time he would protect his crew._

 

_However, he was completely unprepared for the hand that stretched from the ship and attached itself onto deck. A person flew onto their ship, clutching a hat. A straw hat._

 

_‘Ahooy!’ A dark haired boy stood before them, a giant toothy grin on his face, waving a piece of paper._

 

_‘Have you seen my swordsman?' he said grinning. 'He gets lost a lot.'_

 

 

 

_The captain’s mouth dropped open._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it's so late was travelling and than had loads of assignments to do will update more regularly now :)

_Luffy was standing in front of Sanji, his eyes all starry. He was surrounded by thousands of dark beetles. ‘These are my new nakama, Sanji. You must prepare them a feast.. A meat feast .’ Sanji shook his head in horror. Luffy picked his nose, his face filled with disapproval before sighing sadly . ‘You promised you would feed everyone who was hungry’ The beetles rushed towards Sanji, climbing over him, covering him, their legs tickling him. Sanji’s face was white in terror and he started struggling, trying to shake them off._

Sanji gave a strangled cry, still deeply asleep which caused Zoro to wake up. He was disorientated for a second, however he quickly stiffened when he realised he was lying in what seemed to be a cell, and his katanas were gone, and his body felt heavy. He tried to move his arms, but it was useless. It wasn’t because they were bound with sea stone, he had overcome breaking it months ago. It must have been the poison he ingested.

It was at the moment Sanji whimpered again, still dreaming of all kinds of insects.

Zoro recognised the sound and tried to turn, panicking slightly when his body didn’t obey him. Was Sanji hurt?

He steeled himself, and then used all his strength to push himself to the side. His muscles tensed with the effort, and after what felt like hours, he managed to lie flat on his back. He then re-directed all his energy to turn his head.

Sanji was lying close to him, still fast asleep and to Zoro’s alarm he could see his cook’s face was bruised and bleeding slightly. The cooks legs and arms were also bound, so they had definitely been captured.

‘Damn it!’ he hissed, his frustration growing as he tried to pull himself forward.  

‘Oi..’ he said anxiously, ‘Sanji!’

 

Sanji eyes shot open, and he was completely disorientated for a few seconds until he realised that he was lying in a cell and not with Luffy and those… hell he wasn’t even going to think about them. Wait.. the marimo..

He heavined a sigh of relief when he realised the marimo was awake and right next to him, wincing slightly at the pain in his side and the pounding in his head. He was definitely going to bruise again, plus the million bruises he already had. It was going to be ugly. He also needed to make sure that the marimo was okay, but first…

He took a deep breath.

‘You stupid moss- head!’ he yelled angrily.  

Zoro was too busy scanning Sanji’s body, having noticed his grimace, to make sure he wasn’t seriously wounded. Sanji had a habit of ignoring his injuries, and he would rarely admit he was hurt until he was being dragged to Chopper barely conscious.

‘What happened?’ he said, unable to take his eye off the large bruise covering Sanji’s face, which seemed to be swelling and already turning a nasty shade of purple and blue.

Sanji paused for a second, slightly confused why Zoro seemed to be focusing on such a small injury.

‘I’m fine. They outmanoeuvred me. How are you doing shitty marimo?’

‘Have been worse.’ Zoro answered back, trying his best to sit up, which was proving to be impossible.

Sanji noticed his effort and felt relieved. ‘The antidote takes some time to work. I thought you would be out for longer.’ He smirked. ‘ It seems it wasn’t made for a stubborn marimo. Don’t worry, as soon as you feel up to it we’ll break out, get the kid and find the others again.’

There was a brief moment of silence. Sanji suddenly felt strangely awkward, conscious of the fact that they were really close together. Too close. 

He tried to think of something to say, to break the strange tension that was suddenly filling the air but Zoro beat him to it.

He looked at him, his dark eye filled with emotion. ‘I’m sorry.’ He said, to Sanji’s shock.

The marimo was apologizing?  Was it because they had gotten captured, or was it because of…?

‘It’s ok, I’ve been through a lot worse.’ Sanji said quietly, clenching his fist, his fingernails digging into his skin. Damn it. He really couldn’t control his emotions.

Zoro felt his heart tighten. This was all because of him.

‘It was all my fault. Everything. All these months. I just..’ His voice broke.  

Sanji was rendered speechless and he just stared at Zoro for a few minutes.

He couldn’t help it, he loved Zoro and he could tell he was tearing himself apart. The marimo had lost weight and looked strangely unsure of himself, and he couldn’t stand to see him like this. Zoro had always been one of the strongest of the crew, both physically and mentally. He always was the one supporting everyone, and to see him in this state was too strange and Sanji didn’t like it.

He was still hurt, he would never get over the marimo but he had to try to help them both move on. So they could be nakama again. For the others, for Luffy.

‘‘I promised you. Before we started all this.’ Sanji said softly, taking a deep breath. ‘We would always be nakama, no matter what happened. Our ambitions and dreams would always come first.’

Zoro was staring intently at him, listening to every word.

Sani continued speaking. ‘ You will defeat Mihawk. I will find all Blue. And we will follow Luffy to the ends of the earth until he becomes Pirate King.’ He smiled gently, his deep blue eyes glistening even in the faint light of the cell.

‘Let’s put the past behind us.’

Zoro just wanted to grab Sanji and hold him, forever in his arms. His cook had always been too good for him, and he loved him so damn much. 

 

It was at that moment they heard the sound of voices and footsteps outside the cell. The pirates were coming back.

 

‘Marimo, pretend you’re still out of it.’ Sanji whispered quickly. ‘They’ll be less likely to pay attention to you, and we’ll have the element of surprise when the antidote works. No matter what happens, until you’re strong enough don’t move’

Zoro wanted to protest that he was always strong, but to his utter frustration no matter how hard he tried his body still wasn't obeying him and he didn't want to put his cook in danger.

He closed his eye, concentrating hard. He would regain control of his body. 

Sanji pulled himself away from Zoro, his eyes on the cell door which soon flew open. Three large sneering pirates stepped in to the cell. They smirked when they saw Zoro’s eyes were closed.

‘The legendary pirate hunter, and we defeated him, captured him ’ one of them gloated. ‘All those legends, and he was just a weakling.'

 Sanji felt like rolling his eyes. These pirates were genuine idiots.  They really had no idea what they were dealing with if they thought seastone was enough to contain Zoro.

The only thing he had to worry about was Zoro losing his temper and trying to strike them before he had fully recovered. He could see how Zoro was gritting his teeth in anger, even though the pirates were completely oblivious.

‘Do you mind lowering your damn voices ?’ he said. ‘Your raspy voices are giving me a headache.’

All the pirates eyes turned towards him, one of them who was practically bald, leering. ‘Still so cocky pirate? Even though you’re completely at our mercy?’

‘If you’re talking about mercy, please spare me the misery of having to put up with you for longer than I have too.’ Sanji said, returning the smirk.  

A flash of annoyance appeared in the bald pirates eyes and he took a step forward, drawing out a knife. To Sanji’s exasperation even though Zoro’s eye was still closed he could see that he was tensing. If the marimo tried to fight when he could barely move it wasn’t going to end well.

Luckily, another pirate grabbed the bald man by the arm. ‘Listen, the captain didn’t say we could harm him.’

‘He didn’t say we couldn’t either.’ the bald pirate growled, however he took a step back.  ‘We have been requested to drag your pretty face in front of the captain. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way.’.

‘Well I am a bit tied up at the moment’ Sanji said snarkily. He couldn’t help being amused by how the bald man’s vein seemed to be almost popping out of his forehead. The man had no sense of humour. He also noticed that Zoro's closed eye was twitching. Was the marimo trying not to laugh?

‘You think you’re so smart.’ The bald pirates face was bright red, and he was holding the knife even tighter.

He really had to stop baiting idiotic pirates.

‘Look I’ll come without a fight, I really can’t wait to meet your shitty captain again,’ He said giving the pirates a large grin.

The bald pirate snarled, and than came and released his legs from the sea stone, threatening him to follow them without saying a word, or else. 

Sanji really didn’t know how these pirates had managed to get through the grand line. He could have taken them all out at that very second, but with the damn marimo and the kid, he couldn’t really risk it yet.

He got up and followed them. He was the last to exit the room and caught Zoro’s eye. Zoro raised his hand slightly, showing him that he was slowly regaining movement. They grinned at each other. It was just like old times.

Sanji left.

Zoro concentrated all his energy into moving his body. At least Sanji had his legs freed, he could look after himself. He would get up, find the cook, find his katanas, and get back to Sunny,

It shouldn’t be too far behind, his Vivre card was in Nami’s hand after all. A precaution they had taken after the cook had vanished, so they could always find each other.

 

_The captain couldn’t believe his eyes. This was the straw hat who had such a high bounty, the one who declared war on the world government? The person who was bawling in front of him, snot dribbling from his nose? It didn’t help that a skeleton and a giant robot and a giant hybrid man- deer were also bawling their eyes out._

_This was the strangest thing he had ever experienced_

_‘Sawnji.. hiccup.. is ..okay. ’ the straw hat said for the millionth time._

_‘Yes, but they were taken by the pirates they’re in danger!’ The captain said, his eyes wide. He didn’t know they cared about the cook so much. He had assumed because they had left him behind… He might have not done what he did if he had known. Or he still would, It was for Sanji after all._

_‘They’ll be fine. There’s Zoro with them.’ A red haired woman said, grinning widely, unable to contain her happiness, holding up a vivre card.’_

_‘We just need to catch up. Let’s get back our nakama.’_

_The straw hat grinned widely._


	7. Chapter 7

Sanji chopped the carrot into loads of little pieces. He was so annoyed he was practically mincing it.

Ha.

That’s what he got for underestimating pirates. When had anything gone the way he wanted in his life anyway? From now on, he would always expect the worst. Like that, he would never be disappointed.

At least the kid was right next to him, and he was safe for now. The pint had clung unto Sanji as soon as he was released. At least, he seemed to have stopped crying. Sanji had tried to distract him and keep him busy by making him wash and peel potatoes. 

He felt guilty. The kid was blaming himself. To make matters worse Zoro would probably think twice about attacking the damn pirates now.

Unless he could convince the marimo to take the kid and run, so he could deal with his current situation without worrying that they would get caught in the middle.

Shit. It would probably never happen. He wouldn’t leave Zoro if their situations were reversed.

Why the hell had he been so cocky?

To make matters worse, the collar around his neck was attached too tightly, and his neck was stinging. It would probably leave another scar on his body, because he didn't have enough, plus it also clashed with his favorite blue shirt. His entire body was aching now, the bruises he had accumulated these past days were really throbbing.

This really wasn’t how he had expected to die. He could imagine dying protecting Nami or Robin. Or the marimo, even though Zoro had once threatened him that if he ever died for him, he would find him in the afterlife and kill him. 

He was mad because the damn pirates had used the kid against him. Again. He had followed the bald pirate to the ship’s deck. The captain was waiting for him, holding a knife against the terrified kid's throat. Even though he knew he was practically handing away his life, he didn’t fight back when they placed the collar on his neck.

He couldn't risk them hurting the pint. 

To make matters worse, the damn collar could also shock. He had already experienced it, a gift from the bald pirate, and his neck was still stinging

The kid had begged them not to hurt him, telling them he was the best cook in the world. It turned out they needed a temporary cook, as they had lost theirs in the battle. Now they were forcing him to cook for them until they arrived in port. 

.

If he was alone, he would risk attacking the pirates, and attempt to get to the captain before they activated the collar. If he died, he died. But he didn’t think the kid and Zoro would forgive him if he did.

He lay the large fish in the pan, sprinkling salt and fresh herbs over it. It started sizzling, and a smoky smell filled the room. The pirates who were guarding them in the kitchen started salivating. They were starving. Sanji turned the fish over, and removed it and put it into the oven with the carrots and potatoes. He had about twenty minutes before it was ready. He pulled up his blonde hair, not noticing that the bald pirate who was slouching in a nearby chair was watching him in a particularly lecherous way..

Which reminded him…

He turned towards the kid, who still had tears in his eyes.

‘Why don't you want to go home?’ Sanji asked gently.

The kid sniffed, and started crying again.

‘ I don’t want you to hate me.’ He sobbed.

Sanji bent down next to the pint, putting a hand on his shoulder, and grinned .

‘Hey, stop crying. I could never hate you.’

Large tears were flowing out of the pint’s eyes.

‘But it’s all my fault and now you and Zoro are trapped and you might die and I’ll never see the captain and the others again.’ He sobbed. ‘Sanji I’m so scared.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with being scared.’ Sanji said softly. ‘I get scared too sometimes. But even though you’re just a short pint, you have the heart of a pirate, and pirates never give up. We let nothing stop us from achieving our goals, not even fear.’

The pint buried his head in Sanji’s shirt, and Sanji held him close. He was definitely attached to the kid. The pirates in the kitchen started playing a loud card game, and only the bald pirate was paying attention to them. 

After a few minutes, the pint took a deep breath and looked at Sanji, who nodded reassuringly.

‘My dad… My dad buys and sells slaves. I didn’t know it was a bad thing. We always had slaves in our house. My dad said they were less than us, and that they have done bad things and they should be proud to serve us.’

Sanji remained silent, listening intensely.

‘I didn’t have friends, and I was so lonely. So I told my dad, and on my birthday he gave me a slave and I was so happy. His name was Mag and he was younger than me. I was so excited to show him where we would be playing and all my toys but as soon as we were alone he started crying and he wouldn’t stop and I couldn’t understand why. I just wanted to be friends so I tried to give him things and make him smile but he wouldn’t stop crying and he kept saying that he wanted to go home to his mother.’

The pint started trembling, barely managing to continue speaking.

‘So.. So I went to tell my dad that he kept crying and that he was so sad and my dad told me to bring him to the dining room and .. he..’

Sanji froze, dreading what was coming next.

‘He… he shot him! He shot him in front of me and said he would get me a new slave. I just wanted to ask him if we could find his mother so he wouldn’t be sad anymore. And a lot of the slaves started crying and he punished them all by whipping them and I realized how bad we were so I ran away and then there were these people who tried to attack me but the Captain was passing and he saved me and told me I could join his crew.’

Sanji clenched his fist, his face filled with anger. How dare he. A child. The bastard killed a child. 

‘I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to hurt people. I was so happy with everyone.’ The pint blubbered.

Sanji hugged the kid tight. ‘ I swear, I’ll get you back to the ship and you'll be with everyone again. I promise you.’

‘You're supposed to be cooking!’ The bald pirate growled, annoyed at all the sentimentality, breaking the spell

Sanji glowered at him, and the pirate pointed at his collar, smirking widely. Sanji just needed to think of a plan to get everyone out of this mess, which was getting more complicated at the second.

He couldn’t let that man get the pint back, the pint deserved better than being raised by a monster, like he almost had been if he hadn’t escaped and Zeff hadn’t raised him.

 

 

_Zoro sat up, stretching his muscles._

_Not only had he regained feeling in his entire body, his entire body was pulsing with power and haki ._

_It was like he had not only regained his strength, but he felt like he had also gotten stronger. It hadn’t even taken a lot of effort to break the sea stone. He smirked, as he shattered the cells door._

_Wado was calling to him. He could sense she was close by, and Kitetsu was singing for blood. He would retrieve them, and then find his cook._


End file.
